Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
Riona’s laughter followed him through the crowd. He’d left her with a group of bards that would keep Riona occupied for the rest of the evening with their tales. They’d immediately sought her out after her performance. Aiden had been elbowed to the fringes of the quickly growing group around Riona. He didn’t like it, but it gave him the perfect opportunity to speak with Cybelle.
Time was ticking away, and he’d been preoccupied with Riona to the point of not getting to the bottom of the Cybelle mystery, which was unlike him. When there was a secret or a mystery, he usually never left it alone until he solved it. Aiden snorted. It seemed like the Unraveller was unraveling himself over a pretty pair of jade eyes. He glanced back over to where Riona stood. She waved at him.
For once, Aiden appreciated the gregarious bards of the Unseelie Court. Even Siobhan’s standoffish musically inclined lover Fionn seemed enraptured by Riona’s song and was part of the group surrounding her.
Aiden almost missed Cybelle as she weaved deftly through the revelers. Her presence never caused a commotion, and she navigated herself easily through the throng of Fae that had increased in the past hour to almost crushing proportions. She moved like someone who was used to hiding in plain sight. Aiden quickened his steps to close the distance, but she dipped out of the ballroom into a side hall.
Aiden cursed and hastened his steps. While Cybelle seamlessly moved through the crowd without causing a disruption, Aiden wasn’t as covert. He bumped a few shoulders, but as soon as the injured party saw who they’d run into, they quickly averted their eyes. No one wanted to be the focus of Aiden’s attention.
Everyone had secrets. Aiden needed to learn Cybelle’s.
He finally reached the corridor. To his surprise, Cybelle was waiting for him in the hallway. She stood off to the side in a shadowy corner. If he hadn’t been looking for her, he might have missed her. Somehow, the Fae made herself unobtrusive even though she was far from it.
“Unraveller,” she said with a respectful dip of her head. Her hands were clasped in front of her.
“Cybelle. It’s time we had a chat,” Aiden replied. He gestured to a door slightly further down the hall. The door led to a small, unused library. The smallest of many. The books there were solely on the Bronze Age and its history. Aiden never understood why Siobhan cared so much about ancient history, but she had a library for each different historical era, among other things. She was a voracious reader, his queen.
“I believe it is.” Cybelle allowed Aiden to usher her into the small library. Thankfully, a quick search proved it was empty. He closed the door but didn’t lock it. If anyone tried to come into the room, they would get suspicious if the door was locked and come to the wrong conclusion. Now, if anyone came into the library, they would just see two Fae sitting together having a simple conversation.
A fire roared in the fireplace. Aiden waited for Cybelle to take one of the velvet chairs, and then he settled into the adjacent one.
“So you’re wondering who I am and why I’m here.” Cybelle’s statement wasn’t a question, but Aiden nodded anyway. “Can I trust you?”
“I don’t know. It depends on what you tell me.” Aiden sat back in his chair and watched a series of emotions play across the woman’s face. Fear. Frustration. Resignation.
“I’m from the Seelie Court. But they don’t know I’m here. I don’t know if they’re even looking for me after what I did.”
“Tell me your story.” Aiden looked closely at Cybelle. He didn’t recognize her from his time with the Seelie, but that wasn’t anything to be suspicious about. He was a pooka, and she looked like she was Sidhe. They moved in completely different circles, and once he was placed in the House of the Eternal Sun, he rarely interacted with others outside of the house.
“My parents wanted me to marry someone I didn’t want to marry. I left, and I’m not sure if they are looking for me or trying to come up with a different solution for my absence. They did lose face because of my actions. They could have very well disowned me, and I could just be hiding for no reason. So I came here to the place and the people my father gave his life for. I wanted to see if the Unseelie Court had a place for the daughter of Donn.”
The name sent chills down Aiden’s spine. Donn’s daughter was infamous in the Seelie court. She’d been an enigma born from a Seelie and an Unseelie, a rarity. Seelie didn’t usually deign to consort with Unseelie. They considered everyone outside of the Seelie court beneath them.
“You look nothing like him, and Cybelle is a common enough name.”
Cybelle raised an eyebrow at him. “Come on. Like I’m going to dance into the Unseelie Court with my Seelie appearance if I’m supposed to be hiding? I thought better of you.”
“Fair enough. We both know you’re glamoured just in case your family is looking for you. They don’t seem to be, by the way.” Aiden didn’t miss the way her expression shuttered briefly, then she blinked and smiled. She said some unintelligible words under her breath, and then she started to shimmer, and the glamour dissolved.
His eyes scanned her for any indicator that Cybelle was who she said she was. The woman in front of him was pretty with a triangular face, a cute button of a nose, and long silver black-tipped hair piled on top of her head that showed off her swanlike neck to its best advantage. Her skin was bone white and dusted with silver freckles, just like Donn. Aiden frowned. Many Fae had white skin and oddly colored freckles. That didn’t make her Donn’s daughter. The combination was rare, though.
But her eyes made Aiden realize that she might not be lying. Her eyes were heartbreakingly similar, and they stared back at him with the same open honesty that he remembered well. One was silver and the other was a blue so dark it was almost black. There was no mistaking who she was with those eyes.
“Why haven’t you told the queen who you were?”
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to stay at first.” Cybelle shrugged. Her glamour snapped back into place, and the pink-haired woman sat in front of him again. She was good.
“What changed your mind?”
“One of the queen’s most intimidating courtiers openly loves.” She smiled warmly at him. “If her Unraveller can show his affections without worrying about repercussions, then the court is a safe place to be.”
Cybelle’s statement hit him like a hammer. Love Riona? That was impossible. A few weeks ago, he’d been afraid to tell her he cared and now a stranger was telling him he looked like a man in love. He stopped allowing himself to love a long time ago. He cared about Riona. He wanted her to be happy, but he didn’t love her. Love was for fools. Love led to pain and suffering.
“Love.” Aiden laughed bitterly. “I don’t love her. I’m incapable of love. She’s a passing fancy.” He hated himself for his words the second they came out of his mouth. They were untrue, no matter how much he wanted them to be otherwise. Riona was something to him. Something very important.
Aiden thought he heard a gasp and then a rustling. He glanced behind him, but there was no one there. The door was cracked open. That concerned him.
“No, she isn’t. You care for her, and no one uses those feelings against you,” Cybelle said looking at his pained expression.
“You’re right—she’s not. I shouldn’t have said that. Riona means a great deal to me,” Aiden admitted. He was surprised with his admission. It felt good to admit he cared for Riona. That he cared and had feelings. The realization surprised him and was freeing at the same time.
“Among the Seelie, you know what it is like. Someone is always looking to exploit your weakness for their own personal gain. Love is a weakness to the Seelie. I understand why you said what you said. It was a habit from your past.” Cybelle stared into the fire. Her expression was grim.
“One of the many reasons that I left,” Aiden continued, not wanting to commiserate or discuss the Seelie Court or his feelings with a stranger no matter how much they shared. “But you are correct. The Unseelie Court is not like the Seelie Court. There is still intrigue and cruelty here, but the queen discourages it. She hates subterfuge, and social climbers remind her of her father.”
“I think that I will fit in here well. If the queen will continue to allow me to stay.” Cybelle said, tactfully avoiding any further mention of Riona.
“She will welcome you if you tell her what you told me, and it is true. But just saying you’re Donn’s daughter isn’t enough. You’re going to need to prove it somehow aside from dropping your glamour.” Even if she does look like him.
“I think I can manage that, but I need an audience with the queen.”
Aiden stood. “I’ll tell her what you told me, and she will summon you. Soon.” Cybelle nodded but made no move to get up. Aiden began to walk towards the door. It wasn’t shut all the way, and that made him frown. He’d shut it. Someone had been in here. He shot a glance back to Cybelle, but she was staring at the fire, lost in thought.
The quiet hallway gave Aiden time to think about Cybelle’s words. Did he love Riona? The thought of loving her scared him, but there was also something else. Was it hope? What would Riona do with his love?
She wouldn’t use it against him. She wouldn’t hurt him. He could trust her. He did trust her. He wasn’t sure if his feelings were love, but he did care for her. Riona cared for him too. The noise of the party was jarring and loud. He realized that he wanted to go home with Riona.
First, he had to tell the queen what he’d learned. When Aiden reached the dais, Siobhan waved him forward and sent her lover away with a smile. Aiden was surprised to see Fionn wasn’t with Riona. He looked to the spot where he’d left Riona, but she was gone, and so were the other bards.
“I saw you following Cybelle. Have you found out her secrets yet?”
“I have.”
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “That was quick.”
“She claims she’s Donn’s daughter.”
Siobhan frowned at his revelation. “Donn didn’t have any.... Wait. Yes, he did. He had a daughter from an affair with a woman from the Seelie Court. It was a huge fiasco.” Her long nails tapped on the throne. A crease marked her brow in concentration. “Vile creature, the mother, not the daughter. She was a fringe courtier, always trying to claw her way up the chain. She never allowed Donn to see his daughter because she tried to pass her off as her husband’s even though everyone knew. Having a by-blow with an Unseelie would send anyone from the other side tumbling down. I remember now. Do you believe she’s his daughter?”
Cybelle had come back to the ballroom and was standing on the outskirts of the dance floor. Her gaze lit on Aiden and the queen.
“She has his eyes when she drops her glamour,” Aiden said.
Siobhan looked over at Cybelle and narrowed her eyes. “Just because she has a similar eye color doesn’t mean she is his daughter.” Siobahn was being obtuse for some reason. Those eyes...
“You’re right. She said she has more proof.”
“Good, then I’ll call her over.” The queen summoned a guard and gestured to Cybelle.
“Why did she tell you who she was? Up until tonight, she’d been very mysterious and closed-mouthed.”
“She said if the Unraveller could openly show his feelings without worry, then the Unseelie Court was safe.”
Siobhan laughed. “Well, she isn’t wrong, but I’m not so sure that she should be judging the safety of a place based on your willingness to acknowledge a relationship, especially considering how Riona doesn’t seem to recognize that the two of you are in one.”
“What?”
Siobhan pointed into the revelers. At first, Aiden didn’t believe his eyes. His Riona was pressed against Ambassador Cael and laughing up at the northern Vampire. A flirtatious smile was on her lips, and her eyes were lit with promise. She was openly flirting with her partner. Aiden scowled, and before he realized what he was doing, he was already stalking the couple. Behind him, the queen’s laughter followed.
When Riona fluttered her lashes, Aiden had enough. Dancers scattered as he stalked towards Riona and her partner. He reached out and grabbed the male’s shoulder. Annoyed brown eyes turned to see who had interrupted his dance.
“Unraveller, can I help you?” Ambassador Cael asked sarcastically. Riona frowned at Aiden from behind the tall fur-clad vampire. For the first time, Aiden noticed how good-looking the other male was with his long braided brown hair and beard and his bulging muscles gained from a lifetime of battle. He suddenly didn’t like the ambassador from the north.
“Yes, you’re dancing with my...” Aiden grasped for the right word.
“Leave us be, Aiden. No reason whatsoever for you to stop me, especially since I’m just a passing fancy. Now, if you will excuse us.” Riona placed her arms back around Cael, who smirked at Aiden. He was practically daring Aiden to cause a scene. The dancers had thinned out, and now it was just the three of them.
“I have many reasons to stop you,” Aiden said, surprised at how calm he sounded.
“I doubt it.”
“Riona, if you had just stayed a little bit longer, you would have heard the rest of the conversation.”
She rolled her eyes, but she waited for his response.
“You would have heard me say that you mean something to me. I was a fool who was afraid and misspoke. Riona, stop whatever this is, and let’s go home. Our home. Together.”
Riona had let go of Cael and turned toward him.
“I care about you, Riona. Deeply. Please forgive me. I’ll do what I can to make it up to you. Do you want me to declare my feelings for you for all to hear?”
Riona looked around at the throng of Fae watching the scene unfold with rapt attention. She smiled wryly. “I think you already have.”
“I’ll do it again and much louder if you wish it of me.”
“No, I think you’ve gotten your point across,” Riona said with a little laugh.
Aiden held out his arms, and Riona rushed into them. Aiden peered over her head at the ambassador and sent him a glare. “Get lost, bloodsucker.”
Cael laughed and sauntered off, completely unaffected. Aiden wanted to knock a few teeth out of the vampire, but his attention was wrapped up by the woman in his arms.
“Why did you say what you said?” Riona asked.
“Can we talk about this away from prying eyes?” Aiden asked. They’d attracted a crowd. Riona looked around and squeaked in surprise. Aiden laughed.
“You two get off my dance floor and stop causing a scene!” Siobhan shouted. She scowled at the crowd. “Why are you all standing around like fools? Show’s over. Get back to reveling.” Fae flooded the dance floor and soon swirled around them, pretending to ignore the couple.
Aiden shot Siobhan a grateful look as he and Riona left. No one stopped them, and soon, they were flying through the night sky back home. Riona was nestled in his arms. After they’d traveled a bit, she finally lifted her head.
“So are you going to tell me about the conversation you had with the Fae woman?”
“Her name is Cybelle, and the queen asked me to find out why she was at court. Why did you follow me?”
“I wanted to know what she was to you. It was clear that you weren’t attracted to her, but I wanted to know why you went off alone to speak to her.”
“Well, now you know, but please be careful in the future. Your curiosity is going to get the best of you.”
“Now I know, but why did you say that I didn’t mean anything to you at first?”
“Reflex. I’m not used to caring about someone. Cybelle saw right through me.”
“I like Cybelle.”
Aiden laughed, and they touched down near his home. He let go of Riona, and she slid down his body. Riona blushed. She opened her mouth to say something, but Aiden pressed a finger to her lips. “You shouldn’t have followed me. You could have been in serious danger. My targets are usually not so benign. Perhaps I should punish you to get my point across?”
Riona’s eyes widened in surprise until she saw the wicked look on Aiden’s face, and then her green eyes filled with lust.
“What are you going to do to me?” Riona asked. Her voice was husky.
Aiden smiled and reached out for Riona, but she danced out of his reach, laughing.
“You have to catch me first!” She spun on her heels and took off into the night. Aiden grinned and took off after her.